On this day in 1964, Bert Campaneris of the A’s broke into the majors with 2 HR against the Twins.
Campy, as he was known, played 20 years in the majors.
He was the A’s leadoff hitter and shortstop on the team won 3 straight World Series: 1972, 1973 & 1974. He also played in the 1971 & 1975 teams that lost the ALCS to Baltimore and Boston. Later, he became a free agent and played with several organizations.
On September 8, 1965, he played all nine positions in a game: He started at shortstop, went to second base for the second inning, then successively played third base, each outfield position, and first base. He pitched the eighth inning, yielding a run, and caught the ninth inning.
Campy retired with a .259 average and 2,249 hits. He is best remembered for being one of the key components of those great A’s teams. He set the table for Joe Rudi, Sal Bando and Reggie Jackson.
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